The 78-year-old chief of Albania’s opposition Democratic Party was punched within the face on Tuesday throughout an anti-government protest within the nation’s capital, video reveals.
Sali Berisha, Albania’s former president and prime minister, was main protesters towards a summit of world leaders in Tirana when a person all of a sudden broke by means of the group and punched him within the face. Video of the incident reveals the person being rapidly subdued and overwhelmed. Berisha was photographed quickly after with a black eye.
Franc Zhurda / AP
Berisha was main a crowd protesting alleged corruption dedicated by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who many blame for a steep rise within the nation’s cost-of-living, based on the Associated Press.
In a assertion on Facebook translated to English, Albanian police mentioned that the assault was “unprecedented and totally reprehensible.” According to the Associated Press, they’d additionally mentioned that the suspect beforehand confronted fees associated to violence and drug trafficking.
After the assault, Berisha made a press release alleging that the person who attacked him is a “criminal police agent,” police mentioned. But they added that the suspect, 31-year-old Gert Shehu, “has never been and is not a criminal police agent from any State Police structure” and has by no means been used as an infiltrator or data supply, based on the translated assertion.
In an interview with Euronews Albania, Shehu’s mom apologized to Berisha for her son’s actions, saying he isn’t affiliated with any political get together.
“I don’t want my son’s misfortune to be used by the police,” she mentioned, based on Euronews. “He worked as a motorcyclist, delivering pizzas. He has no friends who deal with these kinds of things. He was absolutely not used by anyone. He has had different problems. He had absolutely no political affiliations. He doesn’t even go to vote. I don’t know why he went to the protest today. I apologize to the man that was assaulted by him, Mr. Berisha. I don’t want a political party to be involved in his [health] problems. I am very sorry that they are dealing with people’s misfortunes.”
Berisha, alongside together with his spouse and youngsters, has been banned from getting into the U.S. since final yr, when the nation sanctioned him for alleged “significant corruption,” based on the AP. Berisha has denied the accusations.
Tuesday’s assault occurred as Berisha joined leaders from the European Union and different Western Balkans nations for the first-ever summit between them to happen within the Western Balkans area. There, they mentioned Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and immigration, amongst different points, and the EU reaffirmed its “full and unequivocal dedication” to the prospect of the Western Balkans becoming a member of the worldwide group.
